Distorted Dreams
by MiracleRomance
Summary: AU oneshot done by request. Black Lady kees having dreams where someone calls to her and tells her not to fear the darkness. When she confronts Wiseman for guidance, he reveals that there is someone she needs to meet who can help her to gain more power. But Wiseman didn't take into account the unpredictability of love...


"_Walk through the darkness… do not fear it. I will be here with you the whole way."_

"_But who are you?" _she called back, running toward the beautiful, pure black horse that stood before her, in the middle of an old forest.

She never was able to stay asleep long enough to hear his response, to learn his name. Still, she felt that it was more than just a simple dream. Someone was trying to communicate with her.

She looked down at her hands. _Still long and thin, not the small hands of a child. Was that ever really me? Or have I always been... this? _ It felt unfulfilling, somehow. Like something was missing. But then, if her life as that little girl was so wonderful, would she have ever wanted to change into Black Lady? _This must be better than it was before._

Slowly, she slid off of her bed, and slipped on her black gown. She still got the feeling that the others didn't trust her, didn't want her to be in the same quarters as them. So she held her head high as she walked down the corridor and made her way to the person she wanted to speak to—Wiseman. _He knows everything. If that forest is real, he will be able to tell me where it is._

"Interesting," his eerie voice sounded almost as if he were humming. "A forest. There are no forests in this area, and I can think of none that match your description. Not in this existence…"

"What do you mean, 'in this existence'?" Black Lady asked. _I came here for answers, not more questions._

His cackle still made her shiver. "Perhaps this forest you speak of is from another plane… the world of dreams, Elysion, for instance?"

"Elysion…" she tried the word out on her lips. Something about it felt right. "And if I wanted to go there, what would I do?"

Even though she couldn't see a face under his dark hood, she could tell that Wiseman was smiling. "Sleep," he said as he reached out and touched her forehead. Instantly, she fell to the ground.

"Wiseman," Saphir stepped out of the darkness, surprised to see Black Lady unconscious on the floor. _No matter what my brother thinks, or what anyone else says, I am still wary of Wiseman's motives. _"What did you do?"

"Do not worry, young prince," the hooded phantom spoke slowly, as if to a child. "There is someone that she needs to meet."

….

Wandering through the dark forest, Black Lady strangely felt that she knew the way. _What way? To where? _

"_You returned," _spokethe same calm voice from before.

"I don't know how I got here or where I am," her voice felt shaky. Sometimes, despite now being an adult, the child inside her still shone through. _900 years of being a little girl, and even still I can't escape that._ "Who are you?"

"_Please, just come closer," _the voice persuaded.

The black horse from her last dream appeared before her again, and she realized that it was no ordinary horse—it had wings, and a silver horn, just like a unicorn. She fought the urge to reach out and touch its horn.

"_Go ahead, feel it if you like,"_ the smooth voice continued drawing Black Lady closer and closer. Finally, she couldn't resist any longer. She stroked the horse's mane, and felt its horn—cold, like metal. _"My name is Helios. I am the guardian of the world of dreams."_

"If this is the world of dreams, then why does everything seem so dark?" Black Lady asked, confused. She looked down at her hands, remembering what it was like to be young again. _Dreams, like the ones I had when I was still that small child? They're bright and colourful, full of hope. I don't have dreams anymore. Not like that. _

When she looked up again, what stood before her was no longer a horse, but a boy, about the same age as she appeared. He smiled coyly. "To put it simply, this is a special _kind_ of dream. A distorted dream, if you will."

"You mean, a nightmare?"

"Some might call it that," he nodded, his eyes golden, yet cold. "But I think that you see it differently, don't you? You are drawn to the darkness. Like I am."

"What makes you say that?" she asked, a smile on her lips. She found herself fascinated by his calm demeanor, his slender silhouette, and his confident gaze. He seemed as if he would disappear at any moment, and yet felt more real to her than anything else she had ever known.

He smirked. "Because you came back for me," he said simply.

"And now that I have?" she couldn't help but wonder where this was going.

Gently he slipped his hand into hers. "Only you can help me to release my true power," he pointed to the horn on his head. "And with it you can get revenge, bring them _all_ into the nightmare."

_Get back at the people who hurt me? Who abandoned me? Yes, that is what I wanted. That's why I became this. Isn't it? _

…

"What did you do to her really, Wiseman?" Saphir questioned again, not willing to back down. _I may not trust Black Lady, but that doesn't mean I'll allow Wiseman to just do as he pleases._

"As I said, I have simply arranged for her to meet someone," Wiseman's eyes glowed wildly. "They were already destined to meet, I just organized it a bit… prematurely." He laughed.

"_Who's there?" the young boy called into the darkness. He had been alone a long time, guarding Elysion and the Golden Kingdom. He could tell that he was alone no longer._

"_Do not fear me, child," the voice said from behind him. Helios turned around to see the hooded figure apparently floating, and moving closer to him. "I have come to help you."_

"_To help me?" he repeated. "I don't need any help. How did you even learn of my existence?"_

_The figure pointed to the glowing orb floating between his hands. "I know many things," he said. "I know that you are searching for the one who can release the power of the Golden Crystal, for instance."_

"_Who told you that?" Helios frowned. He knew well enough not to trust the strange being. He could tell that he was not someone from the Moon Kingdom or the Golden Kingdom. _

"_Let me show you something," the being spoke as he ran his hands across the orb. _

_Images of violence, death, and danger filled Helios' vision. He saw an eclipse cover the moon, and saw his Prince, Endymion, fall, with blood in his lungs. _

"_These are true things that are to come to pass," the figure said as the visions began to fade. "But you can stop them if you harness the power of the Golden Crystal…"_

_Helios fell to the ground, gasping for air. He had never felt such pain, such anguish. _

"_I have powers that can help you to find the one who will release the Crystal. All you have to do is put on these earrings and I will lend you my strength. You won't be alone anymore…"_

_Desperate to stop the pain and protect his Prince, Helios reluctantly put the earrings on. Immediately, a change began in him, both physically and mentally._

"_Interesting," Wiseman commented, watching the changes occur. "The Black Crystal earrings have distorted the appearance of the Golden Crystal. It seems fitting for that Crystal to have dulled and grayed, just as I will do to its partner, the Silver Crystal…" _

"If she can release the power of the Crystal that this boy holds, then you will easily get revenge on those people of the White Moon who so offended you," Wiseman explained.

"Very well," Saphir walked away, tired from listening to Wiseman speak. _Who knows whether anything he says is true at all? _

…

"What do I have to do to release this power?" Black Lady asked, running her finger down Helios' chest.

"Easy," he smirked. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, so that their lips almost touched.

Surprised by the sudden movement, Black Lady grinned widely, taking in Helios' luscious lips. "Sounds good to me." She kissed him roughly, then softly, enjoying every moment of it.

But then Helios pulled away unexpectedly, eyes wide. He touched his lips with the same hand that had pulled Black Lady in close. He seemed confused.

"Did it not work?" Black Lady asked, wishing that he had not pulled away.

"Something is… wrong," he shook his head.

"Well let's try again then," she said playfully.

"No, that's not what I meant," he started to pace. _What am I doing here? This isn't right. _"This isn't how we were supposed to meet. I feel as if I have a connection to you, a bond. But it is set in the future, not now."

"What are you talking about?" she frowned. "You're not making any sense." But just as she finished her sentence, she started to understand exactly what he meant. _He's right. I don't know how, but somehow I can sense that this is not how things are supposed to be between us._

"_Chibiusa!"_ she heard someone scream. It seemed as if it were far away, in another world even.

As she looked around, she noticed that things were starting to change. The landscape surrounding her was no longer a dark forest, but the area outside the Palace grounds where she used to walk with her parents.

"Remember, this is within your dream," Helios said, holding her by the shoulders. "Your dream is changing… it isn't a nightmare anymore."

"It isn't…?" she was shocked. "How can that be?"

"I felt it as soon as I first found you," he said, looking her in the eyes. She noticed that his eyes seemed much warmer now than they had before. "We have a connection. We both were drawn to the darkness because we felt lost, lonely, and unloved. But now…" he looked as if he were afraid to say more.

"Yes?" she pushed him, hoping to hear more.

"Now…" he started again. "I think I love you."

"Me?" she was surprised. "How could anyone…" _Wiseman said I was a wretched thing. Something only he could accept. And yet…_ "I think I love you too."

He grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "Your dream is crumbling… someone is waking you."

"No, I don't want to go," she said, suddenly sounding more like the young girl she was.

"Just don't forget about me…"

…

"I should have known."

Black Lady looked up at Wiseman, her eyes full of tears, her Black Moon symbol fading. "What?"

"Love is not something to be trifled with," he cackled. "It is unpredictable and makes people do foolish things."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It does not matter," he said as he sent a blast of dark energy toward her. "I will make you forget all of this. It is nothing but a small blemish in my plan."

…

…

_Years later, after Wiseman's defeat._

"_Please, answer me... I came running through the forest to see you, and just you."_

Somehow, running down that dark path, following the voice that called to her, Chibiusa felt as if she had been there before. Only, it pained her to think of that memory. For there was a time when she was not herself. When a dark force had bent her mind to suit his own whim. And yet, even with all that, this particular memory didn't seem so bad.

…

"I won't forget about you!" she called, just as she felt her body being shaken, as someone forced to her to wake.


End file.
